John Mayer returned to a stand-up comedy club in New York last Thursday night - four years after his first outing as a funnyman there fell flat.

The rocker, who has long entertained the idea of a stand-up sideline, appeared at Manhattan's Comedy Cellar in 2006 but his set wasn't popular with the audience, and critics accused him of racial slurs and sexism.

Mayer has since tried out his act on numerous occasions and he returned to the venue last week to put right his previous flop.

And the star managed to put on an impressive show, according to the New York Daily News, with a source telling the newspaper Mayer was "really nervous right before he went on and kept checking his notes that he brought onstage," but his act went down well with the tough crowd.